entangled hearts
by DevotedSoul
Summary: AU for the ending of S12 and S13. Its fourteen hours before his wedding to Baz but Charlie finds it isn't Baz he's thinking of. [Charlie/Duffy]
1. Chapter One

AU for the end of Series 12.

* * *

 _"Would it be a sin, if I can't help falling in love with you?"_

* * *

He sits in the hotel room, alone, the night before his wedding day. 14 hours until he marries Baz.

So why was he sat in a hotel room drinking whiskey from the bottle?

(pre-marital nerves? Cold feet? Doubts?) – all normal aren't they?

There's half a bottle of whiskey left on the beside table. He sits on the edge of the bed with his hands in his lap, thinking about Baz. He loves her, doesn't he? He doesn't just love her because she's Louis' mother, right? He isn't even sure he knows the answers himself any more.

There's a gentle knock on the door and he stands up, heading towards the door and opens it. He embraces Duffy tightly, taking in the sweet smell of her perfume.

"I came as soon as I got your message." She said gently as she removes herself from his embrace. He smiles moving out of the way, so she can enter the room. There's a comfortable silence between them as Duffy sits on the edge of the bed.

"Drink?" He offers.

"Please."

He pours them both a glass of whiskey and he hands her the glass as he sits beside her on the bed.

"Charlie, are you ok?"

For a few minutes he doesn't reply. (Yes? No? He's got cold feet over the wedding, he isn't sure he's in love with Baz in _that_ way? His doubts are normal, aren't they?)

"I'm not sure I want to marry Baz." He tells her as he sips his whiskey.

Duffy smiles slightly and places a hand on his arm. "It's perfectly normal to have cold feet before your wedding." She tries to reassure.

He isn't convinced.

"Do you love her?" She asks breaking him from his thoughts.

"I think so."

"You think?"

"Yes but—" (not in the way I love you.)

He finishes his whiskey in one and tops up his glass. Duffy watches him as he necks the whiskey and fills up his glass. The silence remains between the two of them before Charlie suddenly says; "I'm in love with someone else."

Duffy's eyes widen at his revelation and the only thing she can think of asking is with who?

(You, he thinks but he can't say it, can he?)

It feels like an eternity before he speaks again, "a friend, someone special."

Their eyes meet, and Duffy finds herself biting her lower lip, suddenly nervous of what's coming next. He places his hand on her cheek, maintains eye contact and tells her what he should've told her, all those years before.

"I love you, I always have."

She closes her eyes at his words and swallows the lump that's formed in her throat. She opens her eyes and shakes her head, "Please Charlie, don't do this."

"Do what?"

"Make things—" She's about to say complicated except he presses his lips to hers tenderly, cutting her off. She knows she should pull away, she's a married woman but it feels so right.

She does pull away eventually with a soft sigh.

"I'm married and you're getting married tomorrow."

Baz, his thoughts suddenly return to his fiancée. Does he want to marry her? Does he love her? Or is he mistaking it for something else? Is it possible to experience two different loves? Fall in love with two people for two completely different reasons?

"Your unhappy, I see it in your eyes."

She shakes her head but doesn't deny she's unhappy. She's desperately unhappy but she took her wedding vows seriously and she has the boys to think about.

"The boys are happy Charlie."

He smiles sadly. She was quite possibly one of the most selfless people he'd ever met in his life and it was one of the reasons why he loved her. She always put everyone else's needs above her own.

He removes the glass of whiskey from her hand, places it on the bedside table and kisses her again.

Duffy doesn't resist or pull away. Instead she lies back on the bed, loosely wraps her arms around his neck and deepens the kiss. She knows it's going to go a lot further than kissing when he grabs her breast roughly over her top, but she doesn't want it to end.

She wants to be wanted, needed and most importantly – she wants to be loved.

* * *

 **jottings -** may make this a multichapter, although I'm not too sure.  
You know the drill, like it enough to favourite/alert, please leave a review.


	2. Chapter Two

Implied sex scenes, rated a T.

* * *

 _I never felt nothing in the world like this before_

* * *

She exhales deeply as she feels his lips on her collarbone. She digs her nails into his shoulders as he increases his pace.

She throws her head back against the pillow. "Charlie, oh God!"

He's better than she could ever imagine. All those nights she'd spent secretly fantasying about him, he's so much better than she thought he'd be. She moans softly which results in him pressing his lips to hers to quieten her whilst grabbing both her breasts roughly.

She digs her nails deeper into his shoulders. She thought it'd be just sex. Sex with her best friend but its not just sex. Its different. There's a connection there, something's different. As clique as it may sound, she feels like she's connected with him on another level, connected spiritually.

She presses her lips to his, roughly before they both reach their peak. He collapses on top of her, pressing his lips into her neck. Breathless, she tilts her head to the side as he nips her neck gently.

"Don't you dare leave a love bite Mr Fairhead." She whispers breathlessly.

He shifts his body weight, moving to lie beside her. He begins to run his fingers down her body before she moves to rest her head on his chest.

He entwines his fingers through hers, "I love you."

She smiles as their hands entwine. "I love you too."

* * *

The morning after. She's the first to wake, her head on his chest, one arm wrapped around him. She closes her eyes to wait for the feelings of guilt and regret to flood her, she is a married woman.

She's surprised when she feels nothing but — contentment.

She exhales deeply when she realises that in approximately six hours, he'll be a married man. She doesn't want him to marry, does she? She loves him but everything's complicated. She's married. He's about to be married. She has two boys that adore their father.

She smiles slightly when she feels his lips against the side of her head, "Good morning."

"Morning," she whispers back as she moves to lean over the bed to find her phone. She has several missed calls from Andrew and two unread messages. She waits for the guilt, but it doesn't come. After all, did Andrew ever feel guilty for sleeping with his bit on the side?

"Everything ok?" He asks, and she nods, slowly sitting up. She doesn't speak for a moment or two before Charlie moves and wraps his arms around her waist and kisses her shoulder.

Feeling his lips on her bare skin makes her close her eyes tightly.

"It's just Andrew." She replies whilst typing out a message for Andrew. She makes up some excuse that she stayed at some friends last night, had too many glasses of wine and she'd be home shortly.

"Do you have to go?"

She exhales again for the third time that morning and nods, "You're getting married in six hours Charlie. As lovely as last night was, it can't happen again."

She stands up and begins to get herself dressed, trying to find her discarded underwear somewhere in the room. Charlie lies back on the bed and sighs.

"I don't have to marry her."

She shakes her head, "Don't Charlie. You have to do what you think is right."

She's dressed, a small mark on her neck where he nipped her earlier and she runs a hand through her hair trying to soothe it down. She leans over the bed and presses her lips to his.

"Whatever you decide to do, I love you."

"I love you too." He deepens the kiss and she doesn't want to breakaway. She wants to stay with him forever, but she can't, she must go home and be the perfect wife and mother. He squeezes her hand as she goes to leave.

The door closes and Charlie sighs as he glances at the clock. Five hours and forty-five minutes until he marries Baz. Now he was more confused than he was last night.

* * *

She gets home, apologises to Andrew and avoids any kind of conversation because she _must get ready for the wedding._

She locks herself in the bathroom, runs the shower and sits in the corner. Her knees to her chest, just thinking about what happened last night.

She smiles at the memory and then sighs when she realises today is his wedding day. She spends about an hour in the shower which causes Andrew to question if everything is ok. She brushes off his concerns as she applies her makeup in the mirror. She knows he knows somethings wrong, but she hopes he'll stop questioning her before she breaks and reveals all. She's relieved he isn't coming to the wedding.

The wedding comes around quickly, if she's honest too quickly for her liking. It means she must face him, must face Baz too with the slight guilt of sleeping with Charlie the night before. She quite literally bumps into Charlie as she comes out of the bathroom, their eyes meet for a second longer than it should.

He pulls her into the bathroom.

"Charlie!" She whispers as he presses his lips to hers. Now this is wrong. The night before his wedding day, semi-fine but on his wedding day? This can't be happening. He pulls her into one of the cubicles.

"Charlie, it's your wedding day."

She tries to remind him but its lost when he pins her against the wall, kissing her roughly. She closes her eyes tightly but doesn't make any effort to move. She moans softly when he runs his hand up her thigh. God, she looks beautiful in that dress, Charlie thinks to himself.

It isn't long before they're caught up in lust again. Her legs are wrapped tightly against his waist, she's pressing her hands into the wall. "Harder," She whispers and kissing him roughly, all she wants to do is scream his name. He reaches his peak before her and she buries her head into his shoulder as she feels him climax.

"God Charlie." She breathes deeply. She closes her eyes as she tries to regain control of her breathing. He's kissing her tenderly, biting gently on her lower lip as they make eye contact.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

The door to the bathroom opens and Ash shouts, "Charlie, are you in here?"

Duffy's eyes widen at hearing Ash's voice and he presses his lips to hers once more before answering, "Yes Ash, coming."

She breathes a sigh of relief when she hears the door to the bathroom close before she kisses him deeply once more and whispers,

"Go.. I won't be a minute, I just need to sort myself out."

It's only when he leaves her in the cubicle, she sighs heavily. Sleeping with a guy on his wedding day, in his wedding venue, that was despicable wasn't it? She closes her eyes with a heavy heart — why was everything such a bloody mess?

* * *

 **jottings -** second chapter, I wasn't going to make this a multichapter but I've too many ideas.  
Thank you for those who have read, alerted me. I hope you enjoy the latest instalment.


	3. Chapter Three

AU for series 13 too.

* * *

 _"I want to be standing at the beginning with you."_

* * *

Four hours and twenty-eight minutes ago, she slept with her best friend.

Four hours and fifteen minutes ago, she watched her best friend marry.

Duffy exhales slightly as she runs a finger along the rim of her wine glass and then reaches over to grab the bottle, filling up her glass. Megan watches her curiously, knowing there's something bothering her.

"For someone who's just seen her best friend marry, you seem awfully sad."

Megan, she always could read her like a book. She smiles slightly. Is she sad? She doesn't really know how she feels – all of this happened so quickly but she can't deny she doesn't enjoy herself when her and Charlie are together.

"I'm ok."

Megan's not convinced. Duffy had never been a convincing liar. She just hoped no-one would challenge her feelings or outright question her. (Except Charlie of course) As she necks back the white liquid, she can't help but catch Megan's gaze.

"What?"

Megan sighs, "Tell me to mind my own business but, you seem distracted."

Duffy doesn't reply as she fills up her glass for the third time. Now Megan knows something's amiss – Duffy's not a big drinker and she's necked back the last two glasses in close concession.

"Andrew and I aren't getting on."

They're not but that isn't the reason she's distracted. She's distracted because she's in love with her best friend and she's slept with him twice. Still she hopes Megan buys her lies and doesn't question her too much on the subject.

"I see."

Another silence. Another sigh, "I don't know Megan, I just feel so—"

(Undesirable? Unloved? Unwanted? Unattractive?)

"Have you spoken to Andrew about how you feel?"

The look she receives from Duffy answers her question, no she hadn't spoken to Andrew. She shakes her head before she answers; "He's always too busy."

"Don't you think you should talk to him?"

She doesn't answer her question. Communication had never been her and Andrew's strongest point. She can't remember the last time they had a proper conversation together, something that didn't revolve around the children. Still, she took her wedding vows seriously. Perhaps they were just going through a phase, one that most married couples went through?

(Although if she's honest with herself, its been a phase for the last two years)

Megan asks her the same question Duffy asked Charlie last night; "Do you love him?"

Forty-eight hours ago, she would've answered the question without any form of hesitation. Of course, she loved him, he was her husband. Now she'd been with Charlie, she wasn't too sure she did. However, could it be that she was mistaking lust for love?

"Of course, I love him Megan!"

Megan watches her neck back the liquid in the glass for a third time and sighs slightly. She'd have been convinced if it hadn't have taken her twenty seconds to answer the question. She follows Duffy's gaze to the bar where she's watching Charlie.

Charlie.

Was Duffy in love with Charlie?

* * *

Eight hours since Charlie married.

Megan sighs as she rubs Duffy's back in circles as the younger woman throws up her stomach contents in the toilet. The second bottle of wine mixed up cocktails wasn't a good idea. Still, she did try to warn her. Alcohol on an empty stomach never ended well.

"Sorry," Duffy whispers before she throws up again.

Megan doesn't comment, just does the motherly thing of holding her hair back.

She's crying, her mascara smudged down her cheeks and clumps under her eyes. She's whispering something that Megan can't quite make out but if her suspicions are right, the reasons she's in such a mess is because she's in love with Charlie.

Now Megan had never been one to keep her suspicions quiet, but trying to quiz Duffy whilst her head's in the toilet isn't a good idea.

"I've made a big mistake Megan."

Duffy lifts her head up from the toilet and wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. She stands up as Megan lets go off her hair and she flushes the chain, leaving the cubicle. Megan sighs as she watches Duffy wash her hands and try and sort out her makeup.

Megan doesn't say anything for a minute. It's now or never, she thinks.

"It's Charlie isn't it? You're in love with Charlie."

Duffy stares at Megan through the glass and pauses. Does she somehow try and convince her she's got the wrong end of the stick? Try and tell her she's wrong and she only loves Charlie as a friend. Her silence only adds to Megan's suspicions.

She breaks down in tears and Megan sighs heavily as she approaches her.

Wrapping her arms around Duffy and pulling the younger woman into a hug, Duffy cries on her shoulder.

"What have you got yourself involved in, you silly, silly girl?"

* * *

Duffy wakes the following morning feeling horrendous.

She's relieved to find she's in her own hotel room and she's fully dressed, passed out on the top of the bed. She's got a banging headache, feels nauseous and the room is still spinning. Her phone's on the bedside table, along with a glass of water, two paracetamol and a handwritten note from Megan.

She smiles slightly as she sits up, the feeling of nausea washes over her and she has to dash to the bathroom, where she throws up the contents of her stomach.

Ugh, what the hell happened last night?

It slowly comes back to her. _Sleeping with Charlie, watching him get married, drinking too much, throwing up, telling Megan how much she was in love with him._ Shit, she can't help but think. Shit, what an earth was she thinking?

She closes her eyes as she throws up again. She clearly wasn't thinking, was she? Shit, does Megan know about her moments of passion with Charlie? Flushing the chain and standing up, she gargles some water and spits it out.

She takes the two paracetamol with the glass of water and reads Megan's note.

 _Look after yourself, what you told me last night, won't be repeated. X_

It just makes her worry even more what she said whilst drunk. Wine, cocktails, emotions - Christ, they were never a good mixture were they? She sits down on the edge of the bed as she sips the water and picks up her phone.

One unread message. Charlie.

 _Can I see you before you go? x_

She stares at the phone for a while. It would be easier to just go wouldn't it? Leave without saying anything, not even a goodbye. She sighs as she places the glass of water on the table and types out a reply. (Of course, you know where I'm staying. X)

* * *

 **jottings -** Not much Chuffy, I'll make up for it in the next chapter though.  
Truthfully guys, I'm not even sure where this fic is going, I'm just writing because of popular demand.


	4. Chapter Four

**a/n:** bare with me guys, I seem to have a serious case of writer's block.

* * *

 _"It's such a shame for us to part."_

* * *

In the hour it has taken Charlie to read her message, tell Baz where he's going and turn up at the hotel; she's found enough energy within herself to have a shower. She still feels god awful, the whole thought of eating anything makes her want to vomit but at least she looks somewhat presentable.

More so than what she did twenty minutes ago anyway.

She sat on the edge of the bed sipping the glass of water, her mind wandering to Andrew and the boys. She knows this will destroy them all if the truth comes out but in some odd way, she doesn't feel at all remorseful. Perhaps she's becoming heartless and selfish?

Is this what it felt like to put your own needs first?

The tapping on the door breaks her from her thoughts and she stands up, placing the glass down on the note beside the table. She takes a deep breath, opens the door and smiles when she sees Charlie. Their eyes lock for a moment longer than necessary before she steps aside and invites him inside.

She's barely got the door close before their lips lock.

And its an internal fight to pull away.

"Charlie, we need to talk."

He nods and sits on the edge of the bed. She watches him for a second before she sits down beside him and takes his hand in hers, squeezing it lightly.

"These last two days shouldn't have happened."

It breaks her heart to say it because, she's never felt more alive. He's reignited the spark she's lost being married to Andrew. She wants it to continue, she wants to continue to feel special, wanted and loved.

She's about to continue speaking when he places his hand on her thigh. She swallows hard. All he does is touch her body and she forgets everything she's about to say. His touch always makes her forget what's on her mind. She's got that feeling in her stomach again – the feeling of lust.

She turns her head to meet his gaze and leans over to kiss him. As the kiss deepens, she forgets to inform him that the last two days shouldn't have happened and why. She realises she can't let him go, she can't let _this_ go either. True love or lust based on years of unresolved sexual tension, she didn't know.

He kisses her weak spot on her neck, he always did know how to use it against her.

"It'll just have to continue seeing him." She thinks to herself as she moans softly.

* * *

Duffy's home by three that afternoon, greeted at the door by both her boys who wrap their arms around their mother tightly. She smiles at both, kissing the top of their heads. She plants a kiss on Andrew's cheek as she enters the house.

For the next half an hour both boys chat her ears off, informing Duffy of what they got up to this weekend while she was away at the wedding. Eventually she gets five minutes to stick the kettle on so heads into the kitchen.

Andrew watches her from the kitchen doorway. There's something different about her, what though he can't quite put his finger on.

"How was the wedding?"

"Like any ordinary wedding." She looks in his direction with a smile, "Coffee?"

He nods before he sits at the table. There's a comfortable silence between the two as the kettle boiled and Duffy handed him a mug of coffee.

He smiles as she sits down opposite.

Silence, except the boys in the next room playing video games.

"Good weekend?" She asks, taking a small sip of tea.

He nods, fills the silence with a few stories of writing his book in between looking after the children. She looks into the mug she's holding as she listens, 'that bloody book' she thinks and hopes to God one day it doesn't accidentally fall out of her mouth.

"Lisa, are you sure you're ok?"

She looks up to meet his gaze and nods, "Uh huh, I'm just tired." She necked her tea back in one and stood up, "You know what these weddings are like. Too much alcohol and not enough time to recover."

She laughs slightly, "I think I'm getting too old for alcohol Andrew."

He nods, now even more certain there was something more than tiredness on her mind. She walks to the sink and rinses her mug out, leaving it on the draining board. She rubbed her forehead, her back still to Andrew.

He sighs softly, why doesn't she ever talk to him?

* * *

 **jottings:** the cracks are there. Will Andrew find out what she did at the wedding?  
Like it enough to favourite/alert, please don't forget to send me a review. Much appreciated.


	5. Chapter Five

x

* * *

 _"I'm tired of getting caught up in those one night affairs."_

* * *

She rubs her forehead again feeling a headache coming on, takes two paracetamol out of the cupboard before Andrew quizzes her.

"Are you ok?"

"Just a headache." She replies as she washes the tablets down with a mouthful of water. She's been home four hours now and they've barely spoken since exchanging words earlier. She's spent most of the last four hours engaging with the boys catching up with the small things like homework and reading.

They're both in bed now which leaves Andrew and Duffy trying to find something to do or something to say to fill the silences before they go to bed.

"I'm going to go for a bath."

She states as she picks up her glass of wine from the table and heads upstairs. Andrew wonders whether the wine is a sensible choice but doesn't have enough time to comment before Duffy's left the kitchen. She sits on the edge of the bath as she fills the bathtub with water, her phone in her hand.

Charlie texted her earlier before she didn't have time to reply.

 _One unread message - Charlie.  
I miss you, see you soon? X_

She smiles feeling the butterflies swimming in the bottom of her stomach. She doesn't know what to put to that. She misses him too. She places her phone on the side as she gets in the bath. Duffy spends about an hour in the bath with her glass of wine, just thinking about things and anticipating when it was all going to go wrong.

Getting out of the bath she sends Charlie a goodnight text with three kisses before getting changed for bed. She enters the bedroom and for a minute just watches Andrew in the bed, he's got his head in a book which isn't uncommon.

She sits on the edge of the bed, "Anything interesting?"

He shakes his head, "No."

There's a pause before he teases lightly, "I thought you'd drowned in that bath."

"Sorry I had a lot of thinking to do."

"Penny for them?" He asks as he closes his book and places it on the bedside table, watching her as she got into bed. She sighed softly gathering her thoughts for a couple of minutes, her eyes fixed to the ceiling.

"The usual. Worrying I haven't washed all the boys uniforms for tomorrow, they've done their homework, their reading is up to date for the week."

She sighs again. Andrew never did any of that. It was _her_ job as a mother to take control of the above. That's why they rowed so much when she went back to work. Granted it was only agency work but he was old fashioned. He believed a woman's life should be the good little housewife, especially after they'd had children.

She closes her eyes and there remains a silence before he kisses her tenderly on the lips.

"Goodnight sweetheart."

"Goodnight," she whispers as Andrew leans over to turn off the lamp. She lies awake staring at the ceiling, even more confused of her feelings now she was back home with Andrew.

* * *

Duffy barely sleeps. Despite being so exhausted in the bath, as soon as her head hit the pillow she was wide awake. She's thinking about everything.

The boys and how heartbroken they'd be if they couldn't see their father. How devastated Andrew would be to discover she was having an affair behind his back. Charlie and how much she loved him and wished this could all be different.

She glances at the clock.

3:30am.

She sighs heavily and closes her eyes. Sleep, she must sleep otherwise she'd struggle waking in the morning.

* * *

 _Beep, beep, beep, beep._

The beeping of the alarm clock wakes her up, just after six-forty five. She groans as she rolls over and lies on her back, staring at the ceiling. She'd fallen asleep approximately two hours ago after all that thinking.

She's relieved that Andrew's on earlies because it means when she drops the children off at school, she can come home and nap. She spends an extra five minutes in bed before she rolls out of bed, grabs her dressing gown and goes downstairs.

The boys are still asleep and she makes a start on the ironing, placing their uniforms on the table in two piles. Then she makes the breakfast and the packed lunches, before getting herself ready for the day and grabbing a quick coffee and breakfast.

By eight-forty both boys are dropped off at school and Duffy's relieved to come home to a quiet house. She sits at home drinking a hot cup of tea (which is a rare luxury nowadays) watching some rubbish early-morning television programme when her phone rings.

She can't help but smile when she sees the caller ID.

"Hi."

He smiles, it's so nice to hear her voice, _"Hi, are you free?"_

She nods before answering, "I am indeed, Andrew's on earlies."

 _"Fancy a visitor?"_

She smiles and teases lightly, "Depends on who the visitor is?"

" _Well I did try to get Jonny Depp but I'm afraid he's fully booked so it'll have to be me."_

"I'm sure I can get a use of out of you."

Charlie gasps pretending to be outraged which causes her to laugh hard down the phone, "I'll see you when you get here."

" _You will._ " There's a pause, _"I love you."_

"I love you too."

It's only when she gets off the phone that she exhales sadly. Someone was going to get hurt from all this. She'd grown up enough to know that secrets didn't remain quiet for very long but she couldn't walk away from him.

He was a like a drug she needed to keep the fire burning inside.

(Dammit Lisa, why did you have to fall in love with him of all people?)

* * *

Duffy wonders if this is what love is supposed to feel like. Real love. The butterflies in the stomach, the tingling of your skin from their touch, the aching heart when you're apart. Is that what true love is? Not the dull, empty feeling she gets with Andrew.

She gasps loudly when he increases his movement, breaking her from her thought process. She grips the bedsheets as the all too familiar signs of a climax build up inside.

"Shit," She whispers as she arches her back.

"You look beautiful when I'm making love to you."

She laughs, "Dishevelled more like."

"No beautiful, it must be the extra blood flow."

She's about to reply when she reaches her peak and cries out as she climaxes. Her climax triggers his and he collapses on top of her, both of them trying to catch their breath back. It's only then that she hears the key sliding in the lock and the door opening.

"Lisa, are you home?"

Andrew, shit! What the fuck was he doing home so early?

She turns to look at Charlie with wide eyes — this was it, this was how their affair was going to be exposed.

* * *

 **a/n:** Will Andrew find out?  
If you like it enough, don't forget to review.


	6. Chapter Six

AU for series 13, the following chapter was written at 4am.  
warning, there is sexual scenes towards the end of the chapter.

* * *

 _"Lotions of love walk through your hands."_

* * *

"Lisa?" Andrew calls again. She hears him place the keys on the side and she knows she's got approximately five seconds until he walks up the stairs. She rolls out from underneath Charlie and quickly grabs their discarded clothing, shoving it under the bed.

She tells Charlie to hide, either under the bed or the wardrobe but to hurry up and decide.

Andrew's footsteps reach the top of the stairs and the door handle turns, just as Charlie hides under the bed and Duffy's tying the ropes of her dressing gown.

"Andrew?" She asks as he steps into the bedroom, "What are you doing back so early?"

He smiles as he kisses her cheek, "I've only come to get my phone, left it behind this morning."

He gestures over to the bedside table where his mobile phone was. Duffy barely noticed, too busy having fun with Charlie.

"I didn't disturb you did I, darling?"

(Only while I was having one of the best orgasms of my life) She thinks to herself before shaking her head.

"Just sleeping, I've been asked to cover a night shift."

He nods but doesn't verbally reply until he picks up his phone and kisses her cheek again.

"I better head back, we were pretty busy, love you."

"Love you too." As soon as Andrew steps into the hallway, she closes the door and leans against it, exhaling deeply. That was a lot closer than she liked. They'd been five seconds from being exposed. She waits until the front door closes before telling Charlie he can come out of hiding.

Charlie laughs as he emerges from underneath the bed.

"I thought my days of hiding under beds were long gone." He joked as he got back in bed. She didn't reply as she took off her dressing gown and lie back beside him. She's still quiet as she traces patterns over his chest with her finger.

Silence exists for a while between them before Duffy whispers, "I don't want this to ever end."

He doesn't reply but inside, he doesn't want it to end either.

* * *

They don't have many close calls after Andrew but they do decide that her home is far too risky. They settled mostly on hotels or Charlie's (probably the only advantage of having Baz living in Birmingham)

After all, Charlie had a free house and nobody would question Duffy coming round and leaving late, would they? They were best friends.

Her agency shifts at Holby were just another advantage too.

"If you've got any more ideas on how to seduce my wife, I'd love to hear them." He teases as he puts the phone down. She has a valid point about the restaurant though. When was the last time you were ever relaxed in a restaurant?

She blushes and he can't help but smile more at how gorgeous she looks when her cheeks turn a deep shade of pink.

"I'll just shut up." She remarks slightly embarrassed but Charlie places his hand on her thigh.

"I might get some more ideas." He trails his hand up her thigh with a smirk, "I mean, what would you prefer?"

She swallows aware of her breathing beginning to increase as he runs his hand teasingly up her thigh. She makes eye contact with him as she bites down on her lower lip before answering.

"I told you..a bottle of wine and an early night."

He meets her gaze as he continues to move his hand further up the inside of her thigh, "So you think she'll appreciate my efforts?"

She breathes in deeply as his smirk increases. He knows she's becoming aroused by his touch. She nods her head and swallows again, before he removes his hand. She shakes her head, still biting on her lower lip before she whispers.

"You're a very naughty boy Mr Fairhead."

She presses her lips to his tenderly for a couple of minutes before she pulls away, "I'll give you some more tips on how to seduce your wife but they will have to be later." She winks before returning to work.

Charlie looks forward to hearing her suggestions later on.

* * *

They've got ten minutes in the on-call room, fifteen at a push. Duffy trails her hand down Charlie's chest towards his groin.

"I'm sure you already know how to seduce your wife but—" She smiles as she undoes his belt and zip and slips her hand into his boxer shorts. He gasps at her touch, "Us women like to be treated. Alternate between taking us out for dinner and—"

She pauses as she wraps a hand around his member. "Staying in and having an early night."

He moans softly at her touch as she begins to move her hand.

"Anything else I should know?" He whispers as he swallows hard.

"Buy us gifts, not just on special occasions but because you want too. Also a massage after work is a great way of getting us to relax."

He swallows again and nods as her hand movements became quicker.

"Are you listening to me Mr Fairhead?" She asks with a small tilt of her head and a smirk.

"Uh huh."

"Good." She pauses for a couple of seconds which causes him to groan in frustration.

"Also—" She stops completely which gets a confused look from Charlie. "If you really want to make your wife happy—" She smiles as she pushes him towards the bed. As he sits on the edge of the bed, she smirks.

"Let us come first for a change." She whispers in his ear as she straddles him.

* * *

 **jottings:** we all know affairs aren't plain sailing but how long before someone discovers what they're up too?  
if you like it enough to favourite/alert, please don't forget to leave me some feedback. Thank you.


	7. Chapter Seven

To my fellow Chuffy lovers, thank you for the love & support.

* * *

 _"See my dreams all die, from where you're standing on your own."_

* * *

Duffy sits at the dressing table, applying her makeup when she hears the bedroom door open. Andrew stands there watching her and she looks at him via the mirror. There's nothing spoken for a minute before he asks,

"Where are you going?"

She doesn't answer as she applies her lipstick, "Just out for dinner with an old friend."

He can't help but think she's making a bit _too_ much effort for a dinner date with an old friend but he doesn't comment. He nods and watches her for a moment as she put away her makeup in her bag.

"What time will you be home?"

"I'm not sure, it shouldn't be too late."

She stands up and turns around. If Andrew's honest with himself, she does look incredibly gorgeous. The red dress empathises her figure, clings to her curves in all the right places but he can't help but be slightly disapproving over the amount of cleavage she's showing.

He clears his throat, "Lisa, is it really necessary to show all that flesh?"

She looks down at her cleavage and rolls her eyes slightly. She doesn't speak as she pulls up her dress slightly before seeking his approval, "Better?"

Slightly, he thinks to himself but nods. She smiles as she takes one last glance at her reflection in the mirror and walks towards him. She plants a kiss to his cheek, "I'll be home before you know it."

He smiles slightly before taking in the smell of her perfume. He'd brought her it last Christmas and he wondered why she was making such an effort for an old friend. It wasn't more than dinner, was it? He doesn't believe Duffy would ever cheat, she can't lie to save her life.

He'd know, wouldn't he? He watches her walk downstairs, "Would you like me to drop you off?"

She shakes her head, "No need, they're coming to pick me up."

He notices she doesn't reveal whether the person is a female or a male, he wonders if its the latter. Dinner with an old friend? Dinner with Charlie perhaps? He doesn't understand why she's been so secretive.

There's a pip of a car horn and Duffy smiles as she puts on her coat and kisses Andrew's cheek again before disappearing out of the house. He closes the door behind her, leans back against it and sighs deeply.

* * *

"Hi." She gets in the car and kisses Charlie's cheek.

He smiles when she gets in and closes his eyes when she leans over to kiss his cheek. The smell of her perfume is lovely, one Andrew brought her at Christmas possibly? Smells like strawberries.

"Are you ok?" She asks, placing her hand on his thigh.

He nods with a smile, "You smell gorgeous and look beautiful."

She blushes deeply at his words. He begins to drive away from her home, they'd been planning their date for weeks but both being married proved quite difficult. Now, they'd managed to sort it and the date was happening tonight.

He takes her back to his, where they share half a bottle of wine whilst waiting for the taxi. He's got that look of mischief in his eye when he places his hand on her thigh. She just laughs, she's beginning to know that look all too well.

"Charlie, we're about to go for dinner."

"They said the taxi wouldn't come before seven forty."

She glanced over at the clock, by now it had just gone quarter-past seven. She finished her wine before she moved to straddle herself over his lap. With her around linked loosely around his neck, she pressed her lips to his and whispered in his ear.

"Better make it worthwhile then, hadn't we?"

Fifteen minutes later, it's just coming up to seven thirty-five and she laughs as she removes herself from his lap. She runs a hand through her hair trying to straighten it out, whilst readjusting her underwear and her dress.

"I hate you," She whispered as she reapplied her lipstick.

"Of course you do." He remarked as she watched him from the mirror.

"I didn't know red suited you so much Mr Fairhead." She smirked as she turned around. As she placed her lipstick in her bag, she took out her perfume and sprayed her neck, cleavage and wrists. He watched her, memorised by her beauty.

She blushed knowing he was watching her.

"You shouldn't watch me you know, makes me nervous."

Their eyes meet for a second but the moment is interrupted by the ringing of the phone. The taxi had arrived.

* * *

The restaurant is just outside of town. They couldn't risk one in Holby although they knew the chances of being caught were pretty slim, there was still a possibility and neither of them wanting their affair to be exposed.

It's a beautiful restaurant and it's just nice to talk, without the need for sex or worrying they'd be caught.

Their eyes meet again over the table and she smiles as she picks up her glass of wine, taking a small sip. Nothing's exchanged until Charlie takes her hand in his and runs his thumb over the back of her hand. She looks down at their hands and smiles, placing the glass down on the table.

"I'm going to leave Baz."

The words completely surprise her and she looks up at him, her eyes wide.

"What?"

He takes a deep breath, "I'm going to leave Baz." He repeats. There's a silence as she finishes her wine and reaches over to refill her glass. She doesn't move her hand from his grasp though. No, no this can't be happening.

"Why?"

She knows it's a ridiculous question to ask — she already knows the answer and he sighs, "I want you Duffy. Its you who I want to fall asleep with at night and wake up to in the morning. It's always been you, I want to make you happy. You and the boys."

She smiles sadly, her eyes becoming watery.

After a few seconds, she whispers; "I can't leave Andrew."

"Can't or won't?"

She closes her eyes as a tear rolls down her cheek, "Charlie, I won't do it to the boys, I won't do it to Andrew. This will destroy them. I'm trapped in an unhappy marriage but I don't care because, because my boys are happy Charlie and that's all that matters."

"But I can make you all happy." He answers as he leans over and kisses her. She smiles sadly before she deepens the kiss. Resting her forehead against his, she looks in his eyes and nods. She kisses him again.

* * *

"Is that Charlie?" Sam asks as he presses his forehead against the window of the restaurant.

"What?" Chloe asks as she joins Sam. "Oh yeah so it is. Who's he with?"

Both of them look at each other when they realised that the person Charlie was playing tonsil tennis with in the restaurant, wasn't his wife. Chloe hands out her hand with a smug smile;

"You owe me a tenner." She simply said, "I told you there was more to their friendship."

* * *

 **a/n** : Now Chloe and Sam know, how long until the rest of the department does?  
If you like it enough to favourite/alert, please don't forget to review.


	8. Chapter Eight

I never thought I'd have so much fun writing this.

* * *

 _"So baby, I will wait for you because I don't know what else I can do."_

* * *

"What?!" Tina exclaims loudly in the staff room. It's three days since Chloe and Sam saw Charlie with Duffy. So far it hadn't made its way around the department but it wouldn't be long. Chloe wasn't exactly one to keep things to herself, especially when it concerned other people.

Her downfall was that, although she was a great nurse, she liked to gossip.

"Charlie's having an affair."

"Charlie?!" Tina laughs and shakes her head, "Don't be ridiculous! This is Charlie we're talking about."

Charlie wouldn't have an affair, he didn't have it in him. He was a good husband and father to Louis. He really did not seem the type to sleep with someone else behind his wife's back. Especially not with his wife all the way in Birmingham.

"Are you sure?"

"Ask Sam if you don't believe me. You never guess who he's seeing?"

"Who?" Chloe whispers in Tina's ear that the person she'd seen him snogging in the restaurant that night was Duffy.

"Nooo?!" Tina was really surprised. It seemed she didn't know people as well as she thought she did. Then again, come to think of it. Duffy and Charlie _did_ appear to be very close. Closer than what most friends were.

* * *

Duffy had taken a week off work, a pre-booked holiday she'd informed the trust about prior to her employment with them. It was proving to be a difficult week, more so since the boys seemed to be more misbehaved than usual and she could swear Andrew was pissed off with her.

She was stood at the kitchen sink, staring at the garden where both boys were playing football. She sipped from the glass of water she was holding before she lent against the counter and asked Andrew, who'd been sat at the kitchen table for the past ten minutes but refused to speak.

"What have I done to upset you?"

"Nothing." It's quite sharp and she sighs heavily. Now she knows there's a problem. He's barely looked up from the newspaper which is another sign something is on his mind. She sits down opposite him.

"Andrew?"

He doesn't reply and she rolls her eyes. She stares into the bottom of the glass before she necks the liquid and stands up. Placing the glass in the sink, she folds her arms across her chest and tells him;

"When you stop acting like a child Andrew, I'll listen!"

He throws the newspaper in her direction and she sighs heavily again. It's not like they didn't argue but the silent treatment pissed her off massively. She stares at Andrew, a mixture of anger and worry.

"Are you cheating on me?"

His words hit her like a tonne of bricks. She swallows. How the fuck did he know? Who knew? Who told him? She shakes her head. No she wasn't having an affair, she'd been too careful. She hadn't left any knowledge of an affair behind, had she?

She laughs, "Don't be so stupid, where would I have the time to have an affair?"

He doesn't answer, he just looks at the table. The signs were all there. The secrecy, the working late, the lies. He knew he probably deserved it - he wasn't exactly faithful himself but she'd forgiven him. However, he wasn't sure he could forgive her if she had an affair.

He shrugs at her answer but still doesn't reply.

"Tell me Andrew, where would I find the time?" She exhales, "I work full time, plus overtime. I take the children to school, I'm the one who practically runs this house Andrew so where an earth do I find a bit of time for someone on the side?"

He's still quiet and she knows she'll get more frustrated at his lack of response. She hated the silent treatment, he knew that was one way to piss her off. She storms out of the kitchen, she's aware of the tightness of her chest. Shit, he did know. She hoped her answer was enough to convince him that she wasn't having an affair.

He sighed and lent over to pick up his newspaper.

She sits on the sofa and picks up her phone. Then she types a text to Charlie;

 _I need to see you, it's urgent. Xx_

* * *

The park.

There's a nice spot in the park near some roses she often finds herself sitting beside, usually for reflecting purposes when she's had a difficult day at work or an argument with Andrew. It's hidden away from the rest of the park so it's the perfect hiding spot.

She sits with her knees to her chest, wondering when everything became such a mess.

"Duffy?"

She looks up when she hears her name and smiles slightly at Charlie. He knew she'd be here, he knew she came to this spot whenever she needed some space. He sits himself next to her. She doesn't speak for a second or two before she rests her head against his shoulder.

"What's wrong?"

She exhales, "Andrew asked me if I was having an affair."

"And what did you say?"

Her silence only adds to his curiosity. He touched her arm gently, "Duffy?"

"I said no obviously but he's right. I—I don't know what to do Charlie."

There's nothing exchanged. He pulls her into a hug. He knew this was going to happen sooner or later. He kissed the top of her head, "Whatever you decide, you're not on your own."

She wondered how true that statement was.

He kisses her head again and she pulls away from the embrace. The only place she ever felt safe enough. There was just something about Charlie that was her safe place. He always had been. The place she was loved –

She meets his eye and kissed him tenderly.

He places his hand on her cheek as he deepens the kiss before resting his forehead against hers. She smiles sadly as she whispers; "Whatever happens, I love you. You know that, don't you?"

He stroked her cheek, "Of course I do. I love you too."

* * *

 **a/n:** things aren't good for Duffy and Andrew, will she tell him the truth?  
If you like it enough to favourite/alert, please don't forget to leave a review.


	9. Chapter Nine

Because I like drama, who doesn't?

* * *

 _"Love your curves and all your edges, all your perfect imperfections."_

* * *

Duffy's first day back after her week off work is horrendous.

She'd spent the last four days of the last seven, throwing up every morning and trying to pass it off as a stomach bug. Her and Andrew had barely spoken since their argument the other night although they had argued that morning because there was some bullying at Peter's school and Andrew believed she should be a stay at home mother. If she was, Peter would be more confident and less of a victim.

Then to make her day more fantastic, if it wasn't bad enough already, she'd argued with Charlie.

"What is it? Come on, what is it?"

"Nothing."

He knows her better than she knows herself. He knows when she needs to talk and when something's bothering her, despite her protests nothing is wrong.

"Oh really?"

She takes a deep breath and glances at him, "There's been some bullying at Peter's school and Andrew says if I was at home, he'd be more centred, more confident and less likely to be a victim."

"That's ridiculous."

She'd been beating herself up the entire morning because she can't help but think he's got a point. Maybe if she was at home more, maybe Peter wouldn't be bullied? At least it explained his behaviour these last few weeks. He'd been slightly horrendous at home.

"Maybe it's not."

"What if I was to bend some rosters? Give you a bit more flexibility?"

His response doesn't go down very well with Duffy who ends up remarking, "Why is it, I tell you about Andrew blaming me for working and you end up agreeing with him?!"

She storms off after that and he sighs as he watches her walk away. He knows to give her five minutes to calm down. The beauty of their relationship, he knew when she needed to calm down but also when she needed comforting too.

Sam hears the exchange and tells Tina, "They've just had a lover's tiff."

"Really, what about?"

"I don't know but whatever it was, Duffy's not happy."

"I still can't believe they're having an affair."

Eve catches the last part of the conversation and rolls her eyes. Young nurses always did like to gossip a little too much. Whatever got them through their shift, she thought but she did frown when she heard the words affair.

"I don't know who you're gossiping about but please refrain from doing it during work hours."

Tina asked, "You haven't heard?"

"Heard what Nurse Seabrook?"

"That Charlie's having an affair with a certain nurse."

"Nurse Seabrook, whatever Charlie choses to do in his spare time, is none of our concern. Now I would appreciate it if I didn't hear you speak of this again."

"But he's married!"

"I suggest you go back to work, _now!"_

Both Sam and Tina went back to work rather quickly, aware in Eve's tone she wasn't happy or in a particularly good mood. Eve sighed. She'd heard the rumours about Charlie and Duffy but wasn't sure how or if she should speak to Charlie about them. After all, it was his private life.

* * *

Duffy sat in the staff room, staring into the mug of tea she'd made herself but couldn't drink – she'd gone of tea, the taste of it made her sick. She wasn't aware of Charlie sitting down beside her until he touched her arm to break her from her thoughts. She turned to look at him and smiled sadly.

"I'm sorry."

He shook his head and moved his hand to her knee. Giving her knee, a reassuring squeeze he answered; "Don't be, I'm the one who should be sorry. I just thought-"

"I know what you thought Charlie, I just.." ( _over-reacted_ ) She thought. She did that a lot lately, more so than normal. Pregnancy hormones, she guessed although she hadn't done a test just yet.

Instinct told her she was pregnant – the bouts of nausea, the change in taste buds, the tiredness and emotional outburst. She'd already had two children, she _knew_.

"There's something bothering you, do you want to talk?"

She shakes her head but doesn't verbally respond. She wants nothing more than to confide in him, he's her best friend but she can't because there's a possibility the baby she's carrying is his. It's not like they were ever careful. Plus, her and Andrew are rarely intimate these days.

He notices a stray tear that rolls down her cheek which she quickly wipes away hoping he hadn't noticed. He sighs. He pulls her into a hug just as Eve walks in. Upon seeing them in an embrace, she suddenly feels awkward.

"Oh sorry, I haven't interrupted anything have I?"

Charlie shakes his head as Duffy looks up. She doesn't speak, and Charlie removes his arms from around her. He stands up and smiles as he leaves.

When he leaves Duffy sighs deeply.

"Everything ok?" Eve asks noticing the sigh.

Duffy nods, smiles slightly and replies; "Yeah everything's fine."

(Well, as fine as they can be when you're in a loveless marriage, having an affair with your best friend and now you've stupidly got yourself pregnant.)

Eve sits down opposite and there's a silence between the two of them for a while before Eve said, "You know, if you ever need to talk, I'm here ok?"

Duffy nods, "Thanks."

She stands up, places her mug in the sink and disappears back to work with a small bye. Eve sighs. Seeing how close they are, doesn't help the rumour mill of their alleged affair. She knows she must talk to Charlie. Before this became any worse.

* * *

Eve doesn't have time to talk to Charlie before the rumours get back to both him and Duffy. She closes her eyes and swallows. She really doesn't need this right now. Not on top of everything else.

She's in the staff room grabbing her belongings before Charlie's familiar, comforting touch makes her stop. "Let us talk about this."

She looks at him. Her eyes filled with tears again, "I need to get back to Andrew, make sure he hasn't found out. This is going to break him."

"Duffy, please. Let's sit down and talk."

She shook her head and bit her lower lip, "What's there to say? The rumours are right, aren't they? We're having an affair, we're cheating on our respectable partners."

She doesn't have time to say anything else or even move when she comes face to face with her nemesis.

Baz.

"You bitch!" The sound of slapped flesh echoes through the staff room and Duffy immediately places her hand to her cheek.

Charlie pushes Baz out of the staff room, "Enough!" He warns her.

She sighs heavily. If she felt crap this morning, it was nothing in comparison to how she was feeling now.

* * *

 **a/n** : Happy ending for Chuffy, only time will tell?  
If you like it enough to favourite/alert, please leave a review.


	10. Chapter Ten

My final chapter guys.

* * *

 _"Where were you when everything was falling apart?"_

* * *

"Calm down!" He warns Baz although to be fair, he understands she has every right to be annoyed and as angry as she is.

"Don't you dare Charlie!"

He sighs heavily. He's dragged her into the office and she's pacing. A pacing Baz was never a good sign. He knew that from experience.

"How long has this being going on for?"

He avoids the question, "You weren't supposed to find out like this."

"Answer the question!" She states firmly, and he sighs, rubbing his forehead. He doesn't know how to answer so tells her, "A while."

"A while? What, weeks? Months? Years?"

"Months."

"Before or after the wedding?"

Technically before he thinks but he's about to lie and try and convince her, the affair only started after the wedding. It's pointless because Baz seems to have answered her own question.

"It started before the wedding, didn't it?"

He nodded, and she slapped him hard across the face, "You lying, cheating bastard!"

He grabbed her wrists firmly but not enough to cause her discomfort.

"Stop! Just stop." He sighed and looked at her, "I love you, I really do but I don't love you in the way I love Duffy, I'm sorry. I should've told you."

* * *

When Duffy gets in the house, she's aware its painfully silent. Her first thought is the boys and then her second is Andrew. She closes the door behind her and places her keys on her side, before hanging up her coat.

"Andrew?" She calls.

Nothing. She sighs as she walks towards the kitchen. She finds him sat at the kitchen table with a bottle of vodka, half of which is gone.

"Where are the boys?"

"With your mum, we need to talk."

Duffy swallows hard and nods, "Yes. Yes, we do."

She sits down opposite him and he doesn't look up from the glass. Instead he knocks back what liquid remains before refilling the glass. There's an uncomfortable silence until Duffy asks.

"Have you heard?"

"About you and Charlie?" He nodded sadly, "How long?"

"A while, since before his wedding."

"Why?"

Duffy sighs, "I never intended to have an affair. It wasn't my intention to hurt you, or the boys. There's just something about being with Charlie that makes me feel alive."

"Do you love him?"

She doesn't even hesitate to answer the question because she does love him. He makes her alive and she's never, ever felt that way before. She nods her head and Andrew smiles sadly.

She places her hand over the top of his and says, "I love you Andrew, a part of me always will but, but there's something about Charlie that makes me feel different."

He nods but doesn't reply.

He pushes the divorce papers towards her. He'd had the divorce papers a while, since he had his suspicions about her affair. There's a signature already on them.

"The boys?"

"We'll tell the boys together but you're always welcome to see them. I'm not going to stop you from being their father because we're no longer together. I'd never do that Andrew."

He squeezes her hand in silence.

* * *

Duffy agrees to stay at her mother's that night with the boys. It's only fair to give Andrew some space. They are now officially separated and despite her wanting to be with Charlie, her separation from Andrew was still tinged with sadness. After all, she did care deeply for him. He was the father of her children. She'd always have a connection with him.

Baz and Charlie talk. Well, Charlie tries to talk to her, but Baz doesn't want to hear it. She storms back of to Birmingham without her wedding ring and no other form of communication happens tonight. Charlie feels like crap. He never intended to hurt her, he did love her. She was Louis' mum.

Duffy sits at a table in a remotely quiet pub in the middle of town. Charlie's agreed to meet her. Neither of them know if it's a great idea or not but they know they need to talk to each other. They need to figure out if they're on the same page or not anymore.

She sips from a glass of wine, aware she shouldn't be drinking in her current condition.

"Hi."

She looks up, "Hi."

She slides the glass of whiskey she'd brought him towards him and he smiles. She remembered his favourite tipple after a nightmare day (then again, he wouldn't expect anything less)

"How did it go with Baz?"

He shrugs and knocks back the whiskey, "We've not got very far talking. What about you and Andrew?"

She smiles sadly and nods, "We're separated."

There's a silence between the two and she's trying to make out if there's a slight awkwardness between them now their affair was out in the open. She put her hand on his.

"Are you serious about us? Am I what you want?"

He looks down at their hands before he strokes the back of her hand with his thumb. He nods and with a bright smile replies, "I love you Duffy, you're the one I want to be with, for the rest of my life."

She nods with a smile before whispering, "Then there's something I need to tell you."

She moves her hand from him and picks up her handbag of the floor. She has a look inside before she pulls out a small photograph. She places it on the table and slides it towards him.

He frowns slightly as he looks at the photograph and gently picks it up. It's not what he's expecting, and he ends up looking at the small blob on the scan for ages before it registers what she's trying to tell him.

"We're having a baby?"

She smiles and nods, "I'm six weeks."

He looks down at the scan picture in his hand before he places it on the table. Then he gets up, walks to her seat and kissed her tenderly. She smiles against his lips.

"You're happy, right?"

"Happy? I'm bloody ecstatic!"

He kisses her again, this time a little deeper and she kisses him back for as long as she can without breaking the kiss. Then as she retreats, he places one hand on her stomach and tells her,

"This is all I've ever wanted with you, I love you."

"I love you too." She smiles as she meets his gaze.

She places her hand over his and wonders how much different her life would be, if she hadn't have read Charlie's text that night.

* * *

 **FIN.**

* * *

.

 **a/n** : Chuffy's love conquers all — I'm inspired to write another Chuffy fic so stay tuned. You may see another one soon. Thank you for the reviews and the follows on this story. All feedback has been greatly appreciated. Kudos. G.


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